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Newsletter 7 February 2018

Newsletter 7 February 2018

Dear God, as we were chosen by the staff and students to be School Councillors and Student Leaders, we will try to do our duties to the best of our ability, with cheerfulness and efficiency. We ask your blessings to help us use our talents for the good of all. Amen.

Wednesday 7 February 2018

Principal's Message

I am keen to build the relationship between teachers and the parents of their students in a way that serves the best interests of the children.Preferably parents and teachers will meet face-to-face to discuss matters relating to school and the child; second best would be to speak via phone; and then there is email – it is good but not at the same level as the others.

OLG staff email addresses are structured as: firstname.surname@cewa.edu.au Please do not expect emails sent in the evening to be answered that night or even before school the next morning but they will be responded to.

Safety First. Convenience Second.1. ZERO overtaking in the Kiss and Drive zone.2. The City of Stirling generously surrounds OLG with hundreds of car bays. There is no excuse for endangering our children’s safety by parking on the grassed areas surrounding the church.

Fact Checking

Late last year we conducted an "exit survey" with those families who were leaving OLG in 2017. For the most part these were the year six parents and students. Some of the feedback suggested that OLG has a focus on the academically more able students as opposed to the 'rest'. Nothing could be further from the truth.

We do indeed publicise our successes in Tournament of Minds, Chess, Robocup and the like. I think it would be remiss of me if I did not let the community know of these achievements.Our most impressive achievement, year in and year out, is the growth in learning (academic performance) of those students in the lower 50% of performance from their Year Three NAPLAN through to their Year Five result. While we do not have data from Kindy to Year Three that can be directly correlated to NAPLAN scores I assume the growth across those years is similar.

Professor John Hattie, of Melbourne University, is internationally recognised for his work in measuring academic growth and what promotes that. A 0.4 'effect size' is the expected academic growth for one year of teaching. Therefore, a 0.8 effect size should be expected for the two years between NAPLAN tests. Below are the mean 'effect sizes' our lower 50% of students achieved between Year Three and Year Five (2015-2017).

Year Three - Five (2015 - 2017)

Effect Size

Numeracy

1.99

Reading

1.1

Writing

1.77

Spelling

2.13

Grammar and Punctuation

1.23

What we aim to deliver is a balanced education for each and every child. To take each child's learning from where it is now to a higher plane. Some of those gains are the stuff that makes good publicity (TOM, etc) but for the most part they are simply the result of our teachers' quality teaching, addressing the learning needs of each child.

Anxiety and Our Children

What do you do if your child is disappointed, worried or at the extreme end of the spectrum does not want to go to school or has stomach ache or other symptoms that weren’t there in the weeks leading up to school?

What is the very first thing you need to do?

If we were face to face I would push you to answer. You may come up with a few like give your child a hug, talk to your child and ask what is worrying them, maybe you might say I would tell my child “it’s going to be okay”, you probably might suggest talking to their teacher. These are all good options but there is one thing that you need to do before anything else. It’s quite simple and something we do every minute of every day. If your child has been to one of my workshops lately they may remember the answer.

It is Breathe. Sounds simple but it is easy to forget.

Then you need to Admit. Admit that you are worried, admit that you are not sure what to do next, admit that you are not perfect and cannot solve everything. Like most of us you have imperfections. You have strengths in some things and find somethings difficult. So, you may say to yourself, “This is a tough situation and I am not sure what to do.” By admitting you give yourself permission to be imperfect and you are not to blame. You are also acknowledging that you don’t know everything.

Too often as well-intentioned problem solvers and busy parents we rush to find a solution, we want to make it better for our child, ourselves and who can argue against that? As a parent who has been through this I needed to admit that as a parent I was rattled by this and was acting out of an emotional place and not an objective position. For example, I was thinking: “What if this leads to depression?” So I needed to “check” myself and my emotions.

The next thing we need to do is Think?

What do I do now? Who could I talk to? Who can help me deal with this?In the case of your child not wanting to go to school, all the amazing teachers I know advise that they need to get to school and so we can all deal with the issue. My advice as a parent is that you need to do something about it sooner rather than later. It may get better but like everything there is a need to nip it in the bud. You may find that you and the teachers may be able to get on top of it and you may need no extra help but how will you know if you don’t try. There is so much support out there for kids in this situation cause alarmingly it is happening more and more. Your school will have a support structure in place, they will have someone who they can refer you to. Your doctor will also be able to help point you in the right direction. If need be call Kids Helpline on 1800 654 432 or look up https://kidshelpline.com.au/parents/issues/how-parentline-can-help-youfor more information.

But before all of that remember it’s all about Breath, Admit and Think (BAT) before taking action!

Fiona Perrella - Art of Resilience

The best praise for children is to praise their own judgement.

"When parents address praise to their children, it should be given with total sincerity. Praise is intended to give loving parental support through spontaneous words and gestures that celebrate the love and joy that exist between parent and child. Children know if they have truly earned acclaim or if they are being manipulated; they see through false compliments, exaggerations and flattery. As well, children can be confused by excessive praise – aren’t we all? Unrealistic praise does not ring true to them, they wonder what you want and will discount future praise as being false. False praise can cause children to feel anxious about their obligations or afraid to take risks or try new things. Children know that they are not “the best” and they can experience emotional discomfort at being told they are."

"The best praise for children is to praise their own judgement. Offering encouraging statements and asking questions that prompt children to think about solutions to problems, are more likely to motivate them in a positive way. The quicker that praise moves from a material reward to a social reward the more beneficial it is for children. They no longer accept praise as something external to themselves but as an internal opportunity for self-development."

"So, we parents need to keep those hugs and smiles coming, as well as those words of encouragement and respect. Timely praise is our way of saying to our child, 'I believe in you'."

Lynn Scholarship 2018: The Lynn Scholarship was established to provide financial assistance to students who might be deprived of an upper secondary education in a Catholic school because of the economic or social circumstances of the family. The intent of the scholarships is to assist with payments associated with school fees, books, uniforms, etc. To be eligible, the student must be enrolled in Year 11 at a Catholic School in Western Australia in 2018. The value of the scholarship will be up to $1500 and is payable in 2018. Applications should be received no later than Thursday 1 March 2018. For further enquiries, please contact scholarships@cewa.edu.au. Application Forms - click here

Important Dates

Wednesday 7 February

Whole School Mass

Thursday 8 February

PP-Yr 2 Dance

Friday 9 February

Uniform Shop open 8.15 - 9.00am (new shop)

School Assembly

Tuesday 13 February

Uniform Shop open 2.15 - 3.00pm (new shop)

Wednesday 14 February

Ash Wednesday Mass 6B

Thursday 15 February

PP-Yr 2 Dance

Friday 16 February

Uniform Shop open 8.15 - 9.00am (new shop)

School Assembly

Term 1 Calendar 2018 - click here

Canteen

Mon 12 Feb

Bec Salamone, Kylie Donaldson

Tue 13 Feb

Valeria Falek, Jenny Hicks

Wed 14 Feb

Melissa Souris, Lisa Kelly, Cathy Beer

Thu 15 Feb

Nicola Headling, Help required

Fri 16 Feb

Lauren Poat, Linda Noble, Judy Calcei, Denise Bendotti

Please contact Peta Taylor on 0419 260832 if you can help out with volunteering.

To access our online order system please visit www.ouronlinecanteen.com.au. Instructions for signing up are on the website or you can contact the Support line on 1300 116 637 for assistance.

If you have answered yes to any or all of these things please consider getting involved at Our Lady of Grace by volunteering for LAP. Grandparents, aunties, uncles, university students and parents are all welcome. For further information click on the LAP Poster link here.

Caritas boxes were sent home on Monday. If you need extra boxes please see Vicki in the office. Thank you.

Uniform ShopOpening Times

Tuesday afternoon 2.15 - 3pm

Friday morning 8.15 - 9.00am

Scholastic Book Club order forms were sent home this week and orders must be returned to the Library before 8.30am this Friday 9th February if you are paying by cash. Please note, no late orders being paid by cash will be accepted! If you are paying by credit card, please use the book club LOOP (Linked Online Order and Payment) system. Visit www.scholastic.com.au/LOOP it's easy and there's no need to fill in the order forms or send anything to school!

Swimming Trials/Carnival

Parent help is required for the Swimming trials 9-2pm at Claremont pool on 19th February.

4B, 5B, 6B 9.00am - 11.30am

4G, 5G, 5W, 6G 11.30 - 2pm

If you can help out please put your name down in the office. Anybody with a pool bronze will be most welcome.

Swimming Carnival - 6th March

Junior Carnival 9.00 - 11am. Help will be required to assist children in the water. Please put your name down in the office.

Senior Carnival 10.30 - 2.30pm. Help will be required. Help will be required. Anybody with a pool bronze will be most welcome. Please put your name down in the office.

Parking: When dropping off and picking up of children please do not park in the driveway around the church. No parking on the lawn between the Church and carpark, please use the marked bays.

Instrumental Music

Our students are able to receive music tuition on a range of instruments. Click here for an Enrolment Form.

Family Information Sheets were sent home today. Please check them carefully and return them to the office even if there are no amendments to be made. Thank you.

Condolences

Our sincere condolences to Sienna James (4B) and family on the sad loss of her great grandmother.

Library Roster Slips were sent home last week. Please return them to Trish in the library as soon as possible. Thank you.

Parents and Friends Association

P&F News

Welcome back to families of old and welcome to the new families as you start your journey of school life here at OLG.

The OLG P&F Association is a very proactive body which only succeeds by the wonderful parents and friends that give up their time so freely. In this fast pace world that we now live in it is more prudent to have more people doing less than less people doing more. So please don't rest on your laurals or be apathetic, give an hour, give two. It will be greatly appreciated and gratifying at the same time.

At the end of last year the role of President had not been filled which was disappointing considering there are over 350 families in the school. Fortunately we are blessed to have a nomination come through over the school holidays. Tony Papotto has nominated for the role and will be formerly voted in at the first P&F General Meeting of the year on Wed Feb 28th. The P&F thanks you Tony and hopes you enjoy the role as much as I have.

The P&F Events Calendar will be published shortly with some new and exciting events. But for the interim please note the following:

This year, due to our exciting building developments, we are possibly looking to find a new venue for our end of year windup and sponsorship would make this happen. We are also looking to provide our Year 4-6 girls with some specialty coaching clinics. We would love it if anyone out there was thinking of sponsoring, to come on board to help us out.